Lesson plan
Static core
In integrated circuit design, static core generally refers to a microprocessor (MPU) entirely implemented in static logic. A static core MPU may be halted by stopping the system clock oscillator that is driving it, maintaining its state and resume processing at the point where it was stopped when the clock signal is restarted, as long as power continues to be applied. Static core MPUs are fabricated in the CMOS process and hence consume very little power when the clock is stopped, making them useful in designs in which the MPU remains in standby mode until needed and minimal loading of the power source (often a battery) is desirable during standby. In comparison, dynamic core microprocessor designs, those without a static core, only refresh and present valid outputs on their pins during specific periods of the clock cycle. If the clock is slowed, or stopped, the charge on the pin leaks out of the capacitors over time, quickly moving to the default state and no longer being valid. Dynamic designs have to run within a set range of clock frequencies to avoid this problem. Static core microprocessors include the RCA 1802, Intel 80386EX, WDC W65C02S, WDC W65C816S and Freescale 683XX family. Many low-power electronics systems are designed as fully static systems—such as, for example, the Psion Organiser, the TRS-80 Model 100, and the Galileo spacecraft.…
Article summary
In integrated circuit design, static core generally refers to a microprocessor (MPU) entirely implemented in static logic. A static core MPU may be halted by stopping the system clock oscillator that is driving it, maintaining its state and resume processing at the point where it was stopped when the clock signal is restarted, as long as power continues to be applied. Static core MPUs are fabricated in the CMOS process and hence consume very little power when the clock is stopped, making them useful in designs in which the MPU remains in standby mode until needed and minimal loading of the power source (often a battery) is desirable during standby. In comparison, dynamic core microprocessor designs, those without a static core, only refresh and present valid outputs on their pins during specific periods of the clock cycle. If the clock is slowed, or stopped, the charge on the pin leaks out of the capacitors over time, quickly moving to the default state and no longer being valid. Dynamic designs have to run within a set range of clock frequencies to avoid this problem. Static core microprocessors include the RCA 1802, Intel 80386EX, WDC W65C02S, WDC W65C816S and Freescale 683XX family. Many low-power electronics systems are designed as fully static systems—such as, for example, the Psion Organiser, the TRS-80 Model 100, and the Galileo spacecraft.…
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.